Saturday, June 30, 2012

So since my camera is broke, and I still haven't figured out which one to purchase or where the funds for one will come from, I was unable to take a picture of my Foodie Pen Pal package, but I surfed the internet and found pictures for all of the things I got for your viewing pleasure! This month my box came from Brittnye at The Healthy Living Chick!

I love popcorn and I love salt (my salt obsession has decreased significantly in the last year), so this treat was perfect for me! It is light, not coated with butter and has just a hint of salt to it...perfection.

I whipped this bad boy up right away. All I had to do was add ice, strawberries and milk and blend. It tasted like it was from a restaurant! I loved it, but I couldn't use it every time I make a smoothie or I would probably be severely over weight...yes I make smoothies a lot :)

This is a product I love! It was actually introduced to me by my dad. I haven't tried the grape fruit flavor though, so I was happy to see a new flavor...delish! I really only drink these when I go to my parent's house because they are always stocked, I feel like I should start buying my own because sometimes I get sick of drinking water and this zero calorie drink would be a perfect secondary.

I've heard a number of bloggers rave about the new Uber line of Larabar, so I was happy to test them out. Brittnye sent me two flavors, apply turnover and cherry cobbler. I'm not much of a cherry fan so I spread the love to someone else, but I liked the apple flavored one. She mentioned that she wasn't a huge fan of Larabars because of the texture and flavor, I partially agree with her. I probably wouldn't buy them for myself, but finding one in a Foodie Penpal box every now and again is a nice surprise :)

Pretzel thins are the greatest thing ever! I don't get to purchase them very much because they don't have them where I shop, but my sister always has some in the pantry. While looking online for a picture of these, I found out they have other flavors too... and they sounds awesome! Can't wait to get my hands on some of those other flavors.

Thank you so much Brittnye for such an awesome box! If you are interested, stop on by Melissa's blog to see what I cooked up for her box!

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If you're interested in joining the Foodie Pen Pal Program here’s a detailed explanation of the program:

-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

***If you’re in Europe, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!

If you have any questions or want more information about joining get in contact with Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean! If you're ready to sign up, click here to fill out a participation form!

Monday, June 25, 2012

I am so sad that I had an awesome, eventful weekend and have nothing to show for it :( I have decided to buy a new camera, but I just haven't decided which one to purchase so until then I will be picture-less, since my phone takes crap for pictures. Here are some of the things I did this weekend...

- Celebrated the O'Connell marriage! It was a total blast! They didn't have a huge budget to work with when planning the wedding and they kept it simple, but it was beautiful and such a fantastic time!

-Celebrated my cousin graduating from high school. She will be heading beauty school in the cities, but before that she will be trying out for Miss Teen USA! She is a gorgeous young woman and I wish her nothing but the best!

-Took my dad golfing for Father's Day! My dad loves to golf. I don't hate golfing, I just don't do it because I'm not very good at it. Insert the fact that I haven't swung a golf club, let alone played 9 holes and a 67 (maybe) doesn't sound so bad. My dad killed me! It was a blast though, I enjoyed the father-daughter time and it was like when I was younger, him teaching me how to play.

Picture from Mother's Day

-I ran a 10 miler yesterday! I really worked on slowing my pace down, because long and slow is really hard for me to do annnnnnd because I will be leading a running group at work starting this next Saturday! I hope we get an okay turn out!

-On the not-so-fun events list is that my sister's father-in-law passed away this weekend, so I will be attending his funeral in the middle of the week this week. Chuck was a very sweet, loving man, who would give the world to my little niece and nephew... he will be missed.

Fitness Plan

The camp I have been working has really been wiping me out and consuming most of my day, so I have been really trying to force myself to keep my workouts up! Here is what I plan to do this week....

Monday, June 11, 2012

Today marks the first day of official WYSP activities! For those of you who don't know what WYSP is, it is a free, summer sports camp that is put on by UW-Eau Claire in an effort to teach children how to stay active through various sports and learn a little about health education. The camp, funded through various sponsors and grants, provides a breakfast and a lunch for all 430 kids (this years number). For some children this is their summer school...they take an instructional course most of the day and join us for meals and a little bit of the first period.

This is my summer job! I will still be training over at my gym, but WYSP will be my main focus for the next month. As a former college basketball player I was asked two years ago to be their basketball professional staff, who taught the different age groups (ages 10-16) about the game of basketball and how to play it.

Today is just counselor and instructor training from 8am-5pm. But our first day with the kids starts tomorrow! Monday through Friday (minus the holiday weekend), 8am-3pm I will be instructing basketball at camp...outside! Talk about loving my life! There are definitely some frustrating moments as the instructor, but knowing how much it means to the kids and how much of an impact you have on their lives and summer make it so worth the while!

Do you have a summer job? Have you ever worked a camp?

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Fitness Plan

My schedule is going to be super crazy this week, so this is definitely a tentative plan, but I hope to get everything in!

Time for another CSCS Series post! This time the topic will be coming from my Marathon Training book! I loved reading this book, as a soon to be first time marathon runner, I soaked up every bit of information from this text.

Training Runs

A good training program will take into account the following three factors:

1. Consistent, easy running for months at a time; a solid base of running cannot be underestimated!
2. Important of the long run. Without constant extended runs between 120-180 minutes, a runner will most likely not succeed at the marathon distance.
3. Relatively speaking, fast running is not important. Faster running should be reserved for those who have been running 25 miles a week for at least 2-3 months, rather than novices.

With these three keys in mind, lets take a look at the three distances of training runs...

Short-Distance Run
A short distance run is typically between 2 and 4 miles or 20 to 40 minutes. During these runs muscles learn to more efficiently process oxygen and gain strength. Short runs can be used for rest and recovery depending on your level of fitness and how far into your training you are. In general, each week should include 2 to 3 easy, short runs.

Medium-Distance Run
A medium distance run is between 4 and 11 miles or 40 to 90 minutes. Once runs get beyond 90 minutes the body starts to deplete energy stores, so it is best to save these more demanding efforts for the long run. A medium run is best measured by time for novices, since it usually takes a novice longer to run a mid-distance run than an advanced runner. The medium run is meant to build a strength base without placing too much stress on the musculoskeletal system or the runner's mental state. Generally speaking each week should include 2-3 medium distance runs.

Long-Distance Run
A long distance run is considered to be anything over 90 minutes. For most runners, the long run should be twice the length of the runner's average medium run. There are times when the long run needs to exceed twice the medium run in order to best prepare for 26.2, but the longer runs should be prepared for gradually. A long run should be performed 2 to 3 times a month at conversational pace, unless it is an advanced runner.

The previous information is meant to be used as a general guideline, it is important to listen to your body even if it means not meeting the previous guidelines. You should consult your physician before you begin any new vigorous routine.

Information in this post is from Marathon Training by DSW Fitness. I am not a certified nutritionist nor is this information intended to be used in place of seeing a physician. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please email me at myfoodevents@gmail.com

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I had to drop J off at the airport today so he could go to Boston and visit his brother, so I decided to make the trip worth my while and I stopped here...

I was a first timer, so I was that girl standing in the aisle for ten minutes looking at one section of food before I made a decision to pick something off the shelf. I have never had to demonstrate more self control than I had to while I was here. Thank goodness I don't live closer! Since my camera's donzo I don't have pictures of the items I bought, but I can give you a list :)

If my refrigerator weren't full of 25 pounds of strawberries that I picked on Thursday with my mom, I would have brought some fresh produce home. On that note...Does anyone have any strawberries recipes I should make?

Monday, June 4, 2012

I mentioned at the beginning of last week that all of my activity this weekend would be recreational because I was having a girl friend visit and I wasn't lying! Carrie has never seen Eau Claire (not that there's much to see) so on Saturday we explored the downtown areas on foot. I showed her all the hot spots that J and I usually go to and pointed out the University. Our final destination was the farmers market...she was in for a treat because there were a lot of activities going on that aren't usually happening. We caroused around the market, bought some awesome salsa from the Chip Magnet (a local family makes their own salsa and sells it at the market)!

After the market we headed across the street where they were having a mini carnival to promote all the new small businesses in the area. We checked everything out and even won a 8 oz cup of ice cream from Frogiyo Frozen Yogurt, Eau Claire's version of FroYo! Having them in town could be incredibly dangerous! I wish my camera would be working, because it was totally picture-worthy!

On Sunday we took a walk to Starbucks where we both took advantage of the promo they had going on... buy a package of instant iced coffee and get any tall drink for free! I may have taken advantage of that twice this weekend, now I just need to try my new iced coffee to see if I like it!

After we returned from our walk we dove into a new (to us) recipe that we found earlier... OMG so good!!! Thank you Skinny Taste!

You know how when you make a recipe from someone else's blog and it never looks as good as theirs? You wouldn't believe it, but mine actually looked almost identical to hers! You have to make these! Love!

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Fitness Plan

Monday: 1 mile + Lift

Tuesday: 5 miles + Abs

Wednesday: 3 miles + Lift

Thursday: 1 mile + cardio + Lift

Friday: 5 miles + Yoga

Saturday: 8-10 miles

Sunday: 1 mile + Rest

How is your streak going if you are participating in the #RWrunstreak ?

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About Me

Hi! My name is Mackenzie, I am 25 years old. I am currently working towards my Masters degree in Human Performance! I love making new recipes, being outdoors and am just recently getting into running races!

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Disclaimer

Please remember that I am not a nutritionist or health specialist. I graduated with a Bachelors in Sport Management and will soon have a Masters in Human Performance, but am by no means a expert. Please consult a doctor before trying any of my tips or workouts. The items on my blog are things that work for me and things that I enjoy. Hope you can enjoy some of them too! If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to e-mail at myfoodevents@gmail.com. Thanks and come again!